It seems the rest day has gone by as quickly as the past 9
stages. I’ve done a whole lot of nothing today and it’s now approaching dinner
time. This is my first rest day in a race, and it’s a bizarre feeling. There’s
the duality of “we’ve ALREADY done 9 stages/we’ve ONLY done 9 stages,” but I’m
also confused by the concept of a day without racing in the middle of a race.
Normally, I’d be doing a short ride with a little bit of
intensity to keep my body in the race rhythm before tomorrow’s time trial, but
the plan has changed. Since I’m climbing really well right now, and seem to be
improving daily, the team has asked me to pass on the opportunity for a personal
result tomorrow and take a bonus rest day. It’s directly against my personal
philosophy of passing up opportunities, but I have to keep in mind that my
primary purpose here is support for Warren and John, and the best way to do
that is to be as sharp as possible for the remaining 11 stages (after the TT).
So today I took it really easy and will use tomorrow’s TT to wake my legs back
up. To soften the blow, the short TT on the final stage suits me better anyways—and
there will be no holding me back on that one!
I’m very encouraged to be feeling so good at this point in
the race. My longest race this year was 8 days, and we’ve already passed that
point. August is over, and the numbers show that it was my biggest month on the
bike ever at over 100 hours and 2135 miles (3500km).
There’s not much else to say, it’s just a rest day, after
all. So instead, here’s some miscellaneous stuff from the race that I couldn’t
quite fit into my other posts.
Something that isn’t focused on much from the outside, but
is crucial to our performance, is food. Normally, the race gives our hotels
money to feed us, and it frequently goes like this:
“Here’s 30E per racer to feed them during the race.”
“What can we possibly give them for only 30E? Oh I know, how
about we give them a meager salad, some pasta with red sauce, and boil some
chicken and potatoes? That’s all cyclists need, right?”
The team travels with a big box of condiments to breathe
some life and flavor into the meals, but at the core, you have a meal that gets
old before it the plate touches the table. In the last week, I’ve averaged
3900kJ per stage. Including the calories I need just to get through the day, I
have to eat about 6000 calories daily. To do that for 3 weeks requires flavor
and variety—in short, good food. And that’s where Janneke comes in.
Janneke is the team’s chef, she comes to almost all the
WorldTour stage races, and she makes life SO MUCH BETTER. Every night we’re
graced with a spread of dishes, and I always have to have some of everything.
My biggest problem is refraining from eating too much. From quinoa salads to
bruschetta with goat cheese, steak and mashed potatoes, we’re never left
wanting for food. Her delicious breads never last long at breakfast, even when
supplemented with omelets and fruit-filled muesli.
I just wanted to take the opportunity to give credit where
it’s due—in this case, a chef whose work is almost entirely behind the scenes.
The mechanics keep our bikes running, the soigneurs maintain our legs, and
Janneke fuels the engines that are running full steam for 3 weeks straight.
Tonight she’s treating us to burgers!
On to another topic, one that’s been puzzling me. With 198
racers frequently all trying to be at the front at once, contact is bound to
happen. Of all the bumps and grazes I’ve given/received in the peloton in the
last week, I’ve been shocked—literal, electrical shock—4 times. All 4 were from
BMC riders. They must be the source of the static buildup, because I’m not
shocked every time I’m bumped. I’m just really curious as to the cause…is it
due to one of the half-dozen battery-powered devices on the bike (which most
teams have), or some sort of clothing interaction, like wool socks on carpet?
And why are they the only team?
And finally, a story from Lawson’s crash a few days ago:
It’s no secret that spectators go nuts for souvenirs. I’ve
seen a water bottle tossed into the middle of an unsuspecting crowd and been
disturbed by the ensuing frenzy. I’ve heard that spectators will sometimes
remove the water bottles from a crashed rider’s bike as they generously stand
it back up for him. Well, it seems they are willing to go even further for a
taste of what we’ve got. Lawson crashed in a roundabout while eating one of our
soigneurs’homemade rice cakes. Naturally, he dropped it. Wanna guess where it
ended up? That’s right, a spectator’s mouth. Lawson picked himself up off a
road so dirty that it was literally shiny, while somebody else picked up his
half-eaten sticky rice cake and enjoyed an afternoon snack.
That’s all for now!
